Nautilus Advisors LLC Sells 865 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Nautilus Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 13.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,503 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 865 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up about 1.3% of Nautilus Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Nautilus Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,881,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $635,057,000 after buying an additional 145,050 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its position in Applied Materials by 21.8% during the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $19,801,000 after acquiring an additional 17,288 shares during the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $1,531,000. World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 82,296 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $21,149,000 after acquiring an additional 3,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avity Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 223,211 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $45,700,000 after purchasing an additional 2,376 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 8.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $585.88 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $154.46 and a 1 year high of $641.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $465.17 billion, a PE ratio of 55.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $459.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $370.55.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.39 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 19.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total transaction of $6,335,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 346,642 shares in the company, valued at $219,608,106.26. This trade represents a 2.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 199,767 shares of company stock worth $114,104,709. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $501.26.

Key Applied Materials News

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo upgraded Applied Materials to Buy, adding to a growing list of bullish analyst calls and reinforcing confidence in the company’s growth outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials unveiled two new chipmaking systems for next-generation AI chips, highlighting new product momentum in its core semiconductor equipment business and potential demand tied to AI infrastructure.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary and analyst notes continue to suggest AI-driven semiconductor spending could support Applied Materials’ premium valuation and future earnings growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares, a disclosure that may get attention but does not by itself signal a change in the company’s fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: Applied Materials fell alongside other chip names after a report that SK Hynix is slowing HBM expansion, which raised concerns about near-term AI-chip demand across the sector.
• Negative Sentiment: Some market coverage also flagged AMAT’s valuation as stretched after a strong rally, suggesting investors may be more sensitive to any slowdown in growth expectations.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and other advanced materials. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company designs and sells capital equipment and related technologies that enable production of integrated circuits, display panels and materials used across the electronics supply chain.

Applied Materials’ offerings include process equipment and factory software that support critical steps in device fabrication, such as deposition, etch, implantation, inspection and metrology, as well as systems for packaging and advanced heterogeneous integration.